The Terrible Tantrums

My daughter is, of course, the light of my life, but here lately her cuteness has been a very big factor in having to "lay down the law". Macy will be nine months old on the 16th and lately she has been throwing some nasty temper tantrums. The first time she threw a tantrum I thought the usual things. I thought maybe she was crabby because she was hungry or needed changing or that maybe she was just tired and needed a nap. I tried feeding her and she ate a whole bottle and a few of her little baby yogurt snacks, but after she was done with that she went right back to throwing a tantrum. I decided she needed a diaper change and laid her down to pamper her little bottom. She still just continued to throw a fit. The tantrum she was throwing accelerated into chaos and she bit me on my leg! I pulled her away from my leg, because it freakin' hurt when she bit me, and told her "No, no. You don't bite your momma. That's not nice, it hurt mommy." She then got upset because I told her "No" and started thrashing her head around like a wild animal. I sat her on my lap and tried to calm her down. She wouldn't calm down so I decided that maybe her teeth are causing her pain. I reached over on the end table and grabbed some teething gel and put some on my finger so that I could rub it on her gums. Macy has two top teeth and two bottom teeth but I don't think her two top teeth are done pushing through because I can see them and feel them, but they aren't sticking out as much as her bottom ones, so I think they are still bothering her sometimes. Then again, her second set of teeth could be trying to pop through there to and I just haven't seen them yet. I don't like to try and stick my finger in her mouth to feel if she has more teeth popping through because she will bite me! It's like an automatic thing. I stick my finger in there and she clamps down on it, so I refrained from putting my finger in there anymore! Anyway, she knows what the teething gel looks like and she hates it when I try to put it in her mouth, so when I tried to put some on her gums this time, she threw her head back and busted me in the face! After that I set her on the floor and inhaled a deep breathe of air, trying not to cry from the pain that was making my face throb. After about a minute, I was fine and Macy was still throwing a fit and this time she was so mad that she was kicking her feet and rolling all over the floor. I finally just decided that it was time for some "tough love", and I picked her up and headed upstairs towards her room. Once we got inside her room, I laid her down in her bed, covered her up with her blanket, and gave her one of her stuffed doll's and said, "It's time to take a nap and stop throwing a fit". I then proceeded to give her a kiss and tell her sweet dreams. After I tucked her in for her nap, I walked away and shut the door. I got about halfway down the stairs when she must have realized that I had left her up there for good, because she started screaming her head off. I felt so bad for leaving her up there upset, but my mother said that it's time for her to learn some self control. She screamed for about 20 minutes and then she was really quiet. I went upstairs to check on her and make sure she was okay. She was sound asleep in her crib. I was so glad that she finally gave in and went to sleep, because I could tell she needed a nap. She was cranky and tired. My mother said that she is just at that stage where I am going to have to put my foot down with her. She doesn't understand that she is cranky because she is tired and she doesn't have a way to tell me how she feels except for throwing a fit so I have to do what is best for her and not let her run over me with her sweet little baby face full of cuteness. It's so hard though! I hate to see her upset! I know that it's for the best though, and after being smacked in the face I don't try to hold her when she is thrashing around! Anyway, I suppose I better get used to it because she is going to have to learn that she can't have her way all the time. I'm sure there will be many more temper tantrums where that came from!